The laboratory is located in beautiful La Jolla, California. We are part of Scripps Research at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, as well as the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. We are also affiliated with the Scripps Research Translational Institute, The Global Health Initiative at Scripps Research, The Center for Viral Systems Biology, The Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, The Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Immunotherapeutic Consortium, The West African Research Network for Infectious Diseases, and The Global Virus Network.

If you are interested in any of these jobs, please apply directly via the Scripps Research links provided under each position – make sure to include both a CV and cover letter in your application. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via [email protected] – please also see the FAQs at the end of this page.

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Associate with experience in phylogenetics to help out with our highly collaborative work on H5N1, SARS-CoV-2, and Mpox, and lead new projects across our range of viruses and research interests. This position is part of our larger initiatives, including PREVENT (https://preventcohorts.org), SEARCH (https://searchcovid.info/), Outbreak.info (https://outbreak.info/), the Center for Viral Systems Biology (https://cvisb.org/), the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium (https://vhfc.org/), the West African Research Network for Infectious Diseases (https://warn-id.org/), Modjadji (https://modjadji.info/), and the WestNile 4K Project (https://westnile4k.org/).

We are looking for a dedicated individual with a keen interest in computational methods that have a direct impact on global health. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team of scientists, biologists, clinicians, and computational scientists to apply experimental and computational tools to advance our understanding of viral evolution and spread.

Read more and apply here. Qualification: PhD or equivalent.

We are seeking a Research Programmer II to develop data processing pipelines for genomic and epidemiological data, and build a real-time surveillance platform for viral outbreaks, including the ongoing outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle. Current tools and pipelines, including iVar (https://github.com/andersen-lab/ivar), Freyja (https://github.com/andersen-lab/freyja), and https://outbreak.info, can be seen on our Github account at https://github.com/andersen-lab/

For further details please contact Karthik at [email protected].

Read more and apply here. Qualification: BSc or equivalent.

Do you take graduate students?
Only in exceptional circumstances can we consider graduate students on an individual basis. Scripps Research has a graduate school and offers highly competitive (paid) graduate positions. Interested students should apply directly via this program – read more about the program on the website.

Do you take interns?
We normally don’t directly take interns in the lab, however, every summer we consider students via both the Scripps Research ‘SURF’ program and the Translational Institute ‘Student Research Internship’ program. If none of these programs fit your needs, but you still think that you’d be a fantastic fit for the lab, then please feel free to email us directly.

Do I need publications to be successful for a postdoc position?
Not necessarily, however, it is very hard to judge research productivity without publications (that’s not to say it’s easy to judge with publications either!). We honestly couldn’t care less which journal your research is in, but it is important to show that you have successfully driven productive projects from the initiation stage to the finish line. In line with this, we’re unfortunately unable to judge publications ‘in preparation’ or ‘under review’ – if you want us to take these under consideration, then make sure they’re on the bioRxiv (or similar) and link to them. If you have very few or no first-author publications, then please explain why that is the case in your email / cover letter (we understand science is unpredictable and sometimes things don’t work out).

Do you sponsor visas?
Yes, we are able to consider candidates requiring a visa for positions requiring a PhD or equivalent.

Do you sponsor green cards?
Unfortunately we do not. You would have to apply for an EB-1A and self petition.

Do you consider international candidates?
We do. However, COVID-19 and current U.S. policies may complicate our ability to consider international candidates from certain regions.

Am I required to get/have my own fellowship?
This is not required, however, it is always expected that candidates apply for fellowships. Successfully applying for independent funding is also going to be tremendously helpful for your future career prospects. Here is a great resource to look for fellowships and other funding opportunities for postdocs and here is a list for graduate students.

What are you mostly looking for in a candidate?
Brilliance and humor combined with an unquenching thirst for great science! Plus you gotta work well as part of a team.

I applied – what’s next?
We get many applications, so we are unfortunately unable to get back to everybody who apply. If you have applied for a postdoc position and haven’t heard back from us within a couple of weeks, but you think you’re a great fit, please email us again since things sometimes get lost in the ether. If we like you as a candidate and you have great references, then we’ll set up a conference call where we can chat more and you can ask all to questions you might have. After that, we have candidates do a virtual visit to present their current and future work. Please note, that because of COVID-19, there will currently be no in-person visits – but trust us when we say San Diego is a great place to live!

How long will my postdoc take?
Typically 3-5 years. However, this all depends on your future career choices and how productive you are. If you want to go for a tenure-track faculty position, then usually your postdoc will be longer than if you aim for industry or staff scientist positions. The reason for this is that for you to be competitive for a faculty position, you will need to show independence with a well laid out future research program in mind. For most people that takes a lot of time. Applying for faculty positions is also a very long process – typically 6-9 months.

Any tips on writing a strong cover letter for a postdoc position?
Be concise and accurate. In a sentence, why are you so awesome? And your research? Why do you fit so well into our lab? Learn about what we do and what our needs are. Also, if you incorporate a reference to the number 42 (and you understand why…) then we know that (a) you took the time to read this FAQ and the website, and (b) you’re clearly a nerd – that’s a promising start.

Is it fun to be part of the Andersen Lab?
Of course! Great colleagues, important and exciting science. Plus San Diego is awesome for science, biotech, beer, and outdoor fun.